Volunteers’ Week, which takes place from 1-7 June, celebrates the contribution of the 22 million people in the UK who volunteer in their local communities. This national celebration is an annual event run by the NCVO.

This year, the theme is ‘you make the difference’ — a sentiment which must be close to the heart of every Victim Support volunteer. Our volunteers truly make a difference to their communities, through directly supporting people affected by crime, spreading the word about Victim Support, fundraising and helping with the smooth running of our local offices.

In 2016, over 2,000 volunteers contributed an incredible 267,144 hours to Victim Support.

Volunteers’ Week gives us an ideal opportunity to celebrate our volunteering successes, so here are a few highlights from the past year!

Going the extra mile

This year, we awarded an amazing 193 milestone awards to recognise our volunteers for their length of service and dedication to Victim Support.

Our longest serving volunteer, Saddique, also received a British Citizen Award, which was presented to him at an awards ceremony at the Palace of Westminster.

Peter, who is 91 years old and started volunteering with us in 1994, was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen’s New Year Honours for decades of community service to people affected by crime in Staffordshire.

Many of our other volunteers also received awards to recognise outstanding community achievement, including awards from the Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations, BBC Radio Sussex and Camden Volunteer Centre.

Fabulous fundraisers

Our volunteers have also carried out some amazing fundraising work to support local services.

With her Smile for Joel campaign, Suzy has raised over £65,000 for Victim Support, through a range of different fundraising events across the country.

In London, Jess, who’s been volunteering as part of a university placement, has raised over £2,000 for her local team through the Waitrose Community Matters scheme.

There have also been countless bake sales, sports challenges and even a bingo night, all organised by our volunteers!

Could you make the difference?

We’re always looking for new volunteers to join our team. If you’d like to support people affected by crime, fundraise for us or contribute your skills to support our local offices, you can find out more on our volunteering pages.